Iohannis: Sibiu Summit, an event oriented to the future of the EU

The Sibiu Summit due on May 9 is an event "oriented to the future of the European Union", on Friday said president Klaus Iohannis, as a guest of honour at the conference dubbed "The State of The Union", organised by the European University Institute of Florence, Italy.

"We must find local and regional solutions because a solution does not apply to the level of entire European Union. The citizens will lose trust in us, we must find an alternative to prove that we are determined, that we have projects for the future, and I believe that the Summit in Sibiu due next week, on May 9, on the very Europe Day, obviously there is no coincidence, we wanted to organise this summit on this very important day, because for the first time we have a summit oriented to the future of the European Union," Klaus Iohannis asserted.

The president voiced confidence in a stronger, better Union.

"We hear very often the politicians talking about the future of Europe, about the fact that we must get nearer to the citizens, that we must answer the citizens' needs. Certainly all these statements sound outstanding, but in fact do we really want to do it? And this is what we will attempt to do, to answer this question. What is it that we must create, to carry out so we give the citizen back the optimism and hope in the future? We must act for this future, because if we don't take measures, if only we whine, then we'll lose everything. And I really believe in the European Union. (...) I want the EU to be stronger, better, more resilient," Klaus Iohannis added.

The Informal Summit of Heads of State or Government of the European Union will take place on May 9, in the Romanian city of Sibiu, In the context of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This will be the first summit of this magnitude ever hosted by Romania since it became a member of the European Union in January 2007.

The high-level meeting will be hosted by Romanian president Klaus Iohannis and chaired by Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council. The summit will be attended by heads of state and government from EU member states, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila complained on Friday that she had not yet received an invitation to the Sibiu Summit, which she said was “hard to understand” and “inappropriate”.

EU leaders will discuss the EU’s next strategic agenda for the 2019-2024 period and exchange views on the challenges and priorities for the EU for the years to come.

The current agenda was agreed in June 2014 by the European Council. It focuses on five priority areas.

jobs, growth and competitiveness

• empowering and protecting citizens

• energy and climate policies

• freedom, security and justice

• the EU as a strong global actor

According to Emerging Europe, Commission President Juncker is expected to use the summit in Sibiu as an opportunity to call for greater integration among member states, including the creation of a European Defence Union. This will be one of Juncker’s last chances to push his vision for the future of the Union as he is due to step down from his role in November.

On the day of the summit, which is also known as Europe Day, ruling party PSD is planning to hold a political rally in the northeastern city of Iasi, which party president Liviu Dragnea is expected to attend, according to statements made by a local PSD leader, who added that the rally could gather up to 40,000 of the party’s supporters.

Developed by Codecraftsman